No Wrong-doing At 1MDB?

Issuing a press release outside Parliament today, DAP’s Finance Spokesman, Tony Pua pointed out that the multi-billion dollar 1MDB fund’s new board has not met in almost a year. It does not have any validated accounts since 2012.

The world is also dotted with investigations into the stolen billions from the fund and just yesterday more bankers were punished in Singapore for their facilitating of that money laundering.

Yet, Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was the sole individual in charge of the fund, has said there was no wrong-doing and has closed down all investigations, sparking widespread rebellion amongst law enforcers.

This is Tony Pua’s comprehensive statement:

1MDB Chairman, Tan Sri Irwan Serigar must answer as to why his fellow Directors are so tardy in making urgent and critical decisions on the financial audit of scandal-ridden 1MDB

The last audited financial statements filed by 1MDB was for the accounts for the year-ending March 2014. 1MDB has failed to file their financial statements for 2 consecutive years, March 2015 and March 2016 which were due to by October 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Even so, Deloitte Malaysia has since July last year, withdrawn its endorsements for the financial statements of March 2013 and 2014. At the same time, the disgraced audit firm announced that it had resigned as the auditors of 1MDB as at February 2016.

The new auditors, Parker Randall, which is operated locally by a four-partner Afrizan Tarmili Khairul Azhar (aftaas) was appointed in January this year.

I had asked in my parliamentary question to the Finance Minister last week as to whether Parker Randall will re-audit the 1MDB financial statements for March 2013 and 2014.

The Minister of Finance responded that the Board of Directors will make a decision on the above on “after further discussions with the new auditor”.

The reply also stated that the last time the Board of Directors met to discuss the implications of the US Department of Justice asset-seizure kleptocracy suit was prior to 26 July 2016 when 1MDB had issued a press statement.

Malaysians are shocked that for exactly 1 year after Treasurer-General, Tan Sri Irwan Serigar took over the 1MDB Chairmanship from the disgraced Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, the Board of Directors had basically sat on their backsides and demonstrated little or no urgency over the 1MDB fiasco.

Allegations and evidence have been produced and made available globally by the US Department of Justice which showed that more than US$5 billion have been misappropriation from 1MDB and laundered around the world and yet our Treasurer-General acts as if it is no big deal. These allegations and evidence have been supported since by court prosecutions which took place in Singapore and Switzerland against banks which had facilitated the money-laundering transactions.

Worse, it has also been discovered that at least US$731 million from the above misappropriated sum had found its way into the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s personal bank account. Despite the gravity of the crime, our Treasurer-General, the most senior civil servant responsible for managing our hundreds of billions of ringgit of annual tax revenue has shown only nonchalance in the scandal.

Any auditor worth their salt would immediately tell you that they will not be able to complete a financial audit for the year without the “opening balance” or prior year accounts. In this case, it is clear that there have been no audited and certified accounts for March 2013 and 2014 given that Deloitte has withdrawn its endorsement.

What’s more,the Companies Act requires the annual submission of financial statements endorsed by an appointed external auditor to the Registrar of Companies. It is the statutory requirement for the independent auditor to carry out the above task and Directors who fail to ensure that the above are duly completed in a timely matter may be punishable by up to 5 years’ jail or thirty thousand ringgit.

The only resolution for the above matter is for the accounts for March 2013 and 2014 to be re-audited and re-stated.

Hence, what is the point of appointing Parker Randall as the new auditors if they cannot properly perform their duties? Why is the 1MDB Board of Directors dragging its feet under the chairmanship of the Treasurer-General?

We call upon Tan Sri Irwan Serigar to do what he is being paid to do by the Malaysian tax-payers properly. He must remember that his job is to protect the integrity of his office and not to protect those who have misappropriated and stolen billions of ringgit from the Government and the people.

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